The Origin of Camouflage
by Miraculous Cora Zone
Summary: Sequel to "When Maud Met Boulder." Pinkie Pie is asked to babysit Boulder by her big sister Maud while she and their father go out of town for the day. All goes well until Pinkie loses her sister's pet rock when playing with him in the front yard. And so begins the origin of the game "Camouflage."


It had been a few months since Maud had met her pet rock, Boulder. She loved him as much as she did her sisters. Boulder was everything to her. The two of them were very close friends.

The grey little filly was laying on the living room floor. Boulder laid right in front of her, facing her direction. She looked at her pet with great affection, blinking slowly while her expression remained blank.

"Hey, Boulder," she began, "can you do any tricks?"

The rock remained still, flat on the cold wooden floor. The pony took her right hoof, laying it under her pet and flipping him to the left. A little thump sound happened as Boulder hit the ground.

Suddenly, the living room had erupted with the sound of hooves clapping. Maud looked up to see her best sister friend, Pinkie Pie, clapping her hooves in a frantic manner. An impressed expression across her face.

"Ooohhh! That was an amazing trick, Boulder!" Pinkie said, sliding over to him and her sister. A moment of silence filled the room, the pink filly just staring at the oval-shaped specimen. "Why, you're very welcome!"

Maud looked over at her little sister, her blue eyes slowly shifting between Pinkie and her pet. She felt the urge to smile... but didn't.

 _Pinkie and Boulder get along great_ , she thought.

Both of the fillies' ears perked up to the sound of hoofsteps coming down from the top of the stairs. The two sisters looked up to see a stallion with a muted yellow fur coat, and a short light and dark grey striped mane and tail. A straw of hay in his mouth, wearing a neck tie and a hat. On his flank was a pick ax for a cutie mark. He had a rough expression upon his face, staring at the two ponies sitting in the living room.

"Maud," the stallion began with a rough, gravely voice, "Since your mother is out for the week, visiting your Nanna Pinkie, with Marble and Limestone, I need you to come with me to the market to collect some supplies."

"What about me, dad?" Pinkie Pie asked, running up to her father, Igneous Rock Pie.

Igneous's rough expression softened at the pink filly. He gave her a hug whilst he answered, "No, Pinkamena. I need you to stay here and take care of the house."

Pinkie's smile slowly faded, walking back over toward the living room with her head down.

Maud noticed immediately how sad her sister looked. It hurt her to see her best friend down in the dumps. This gave her an idea.

"Hey, dad," she began, in her usual monotone voice, "since Pinkie can't come with us to the market..."

Pinkie Pie looked up at her older sister, curious to where this was going.

"...Can she looked after Boulder?" she asked him, holding her pet in her hoof.

Igneous looked at his eldest daughter's pet then looked over at Pinkamena, whom was now wearing an excited expression across her face. She wore a smile that went all the way to her cheek bones, her pupils twinkling in the light of the room.

He looked at Pinkamena, giving her a sly smile before answering. "I think that's a marvelous idea, Maud."

Pinkie Pie shrieked, running over to her big sister. She embraced her tightly, almost squeezing her to death. Maud facial expression, however, never changing.

* * *

Igneous and Maud were next to the front door, telling Pinkie what to do and what _not_ to do while home alone. Though, she had stayed home alone plenty of times before, Igneous _always_ made sure to tell her the rights and wrongs.

"Now, Pinkie make sure you take good care of Boulder," Maud told her sister. "I know you love him as much as I do, but make sure nothing happens to him."

"Don't worry, Maud!" the little pink filly said, gleefully. "I'll keep a very close eye on him."

Maud stared at her sister, before blinking slowly. A little smile spread across her face as she went to give her a hug goodbye.

Maud went out the front door soon after, trotting alongside her father. Pinkie Pie waved goodbye until they were out of sight.

She put her hoof on the doorknob, closing the front door. She looked at Boulder, whom was in her other hoof. The filly gave the rock a reassuring look.

"Oh, don't worry, Boulder. Maud and dad will be back soon," she said, giving him a hoofrub. "Hey, in the meantime, let's do something fun!"

Pinkie Pie stared at the rock for a few moments before shrieking. "Eeepppp! I knew that would cheer you up!"

* * *

Pinkie and Boulder had spent their time doing all sorts of activities. Most of them being fun little games.

The first game being "Go Fish," to which Boulder won multiple games of. The next game they had played being "Tic-Tac-Toe," which Pinkie had won countless. The two of them were just having a blast.

They had stop playing for a while to have a little snack. Pinkie Pie had a daisy salad sandwich while she fed Boulder some crackers. They ate for a good five minutes before going back to their activities.

"Hey, Boulder, I have a fun game we can play. Want to know what it is?"

Silence filled the room for a few moments.

"I think it would be a great idea to play 'Hide-and-Seek' out in the front yard," she said, giggling. "What do you think?"

Another silence filled the room.

"Great!"

The pink filly took the rock in her hoof and headed toward the front yard in top speed. Hopping on the rough gravely dirt; her hair bouncing along as well. She stopped by a tree in her front yard.

"Alright, Boulder," she said, "I'll hide first and you come find me. Oh, and make sure you count to ten!"

She then set the little rock down on the ground while she went and hid behind the tree. She waited a minute or two before popping her head out from behind the tree.

She gasped, staring at the rock, holding him in her hoof. "How did you find me so fast?"

Boulder remained silent.

"Anyway, since you found me, it's _my_ turn to find _you_!"

Pinkie Pie then tossed him all the way over to a pile of rocks, away from the tree. She turned around, pressing her arms against her face, counting to ten.

"7...8...9...10! Ready or not, here I come!"

The little pink pony trotted over toward the little pile of rocks. Looking from both sides, trying to spot her sister's pet. As she reached the little pile of rocks, her face began to gleam, for she was about to find him with her first try.

However, the gleam over her face was soon taken over by worry and hesitation due to the fact that she wasn't sure which one of the rocks in the pile was Boulder. She soon began to panic. _Boulder! Boulder, where are you?! Oh, where did you go?_

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of hoofsteps coming toward the farm. She turned her head to see her father and Maud returning from the market. Pinkie was panicking even inside even more.

 _Oh, no! Here comes Maud! Oh, if she finds out that I lost Boulder, she'll never trust me again! I need to think of something quick!_

The all around pink pony trotted toward her father and sister, while trying to keep a calm, non-suspicious demeanor.

"Hi, Maud. Hi, dad," she greeted. "How was your trip to the market?"

"Oh, Pinkamena, it was just fine," her father responded. He then turned over to Maud. "Maud, why don't spend some time with your sister and your pet while I go an put this stuff away?"

The grey pony just blinked at her father, clearly telling him that that sounded like a good idea. Igneous took the bag she was carrying in his mouth, going inside the house. The two sisters watched until the door shut closed.

Maud then looked over at her sister before speaking. "So, how was Boulder? Did he behave himself?" she asked, her voice still as monotone as ever.

"Oh, Boulder was great! And we had a _lot_ of fun! We played some 'Go Fish!' and then a few games of 'Tic-Tac-Toe' and then had a little snack afterwards."

Maud's expression remained blank, she blinked slowly. "Well, I'm happy that you two had fun. Where is he anyway?"

Pinkie's heart nearly sunk when her best friend asked that question. _Quick, Pinkie! Make up some sort of excuse!_

"Oh, well, after we ate, we decided to play a game here in the front yard!"

"Oh, really. What game?"

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Dughh... it's a new game I just came up with called... called... 'CAMOUFLAGE!' Yeah, that's it! 'Camouflage'! It's kind of like 'Hide-and-Seek' but waaayy more intense," she explained.

Maud's expression changed ever so slightly as she listened to her sister explain this new game she came up with. She was intrigued.

"I was about to go and find him when I heard you and dad coming from the market."

Well, she was telling _half_ the truth.

"Why don't we find him together?" Maud asked.

The grey filly took her little sisters hoof in hers and walked toward the pile of rocks Pinkie said to have concluded where her pet would be. As the two fillies reached the little pile, Pinkie began to panic inside some more. _Oh, what if she doesn't know which one is Boulder either? What if we can_ never _find him? What if-_

"Found him," Maud said, suddenly, breaking Pinkie out of her thoughts.

She looked over to see Maud actually _holding_ Boulder in her hoof. Her mouth hung open at the sight before her.

"Wow, Maud, you're good."

"I like this game," she told Pinkie. "You're right. It is waaayy more intense," she said, her eyes widening as she enunciated the word 'way.' "I think it's my new favorite. And it's my new favorite for one special reason."

Pinkie tilted her head, curious. "Oh, and what's that?"

Maud then gave her a great big smile. A smile that reached her cheek bones. "Because my best friend came up with it."

Pinkie Pie had tears well up in her eyes as she embraced her sister in a great big hug.


End file.
